Group Microscopy for Little Scientists

If you want to make sure your younger students see what they are suppose to see under the microscope, this activity may ‘fit the bill’. Many of our younger students have great difficulty ... See More

If you want to make sure your younger students see what they are suppose to see under the microscope, this activity may ‘fit the bill’. Many of our younger students have great difficulty finding, focusing, and seeing what we want them to see under the conventional microscope. The digital microscope is a technology that saves time and staves frustration while greatly improving student learning. In this article, the authors invested in a digital projection system to use with a microscope. By projecting a slide of live organisms on the screen, all students were able to easily see the same drop of pond water teaming with specifically isolated organisms. Plus, projecting a tiny diatom (that is difficult for even experienced middle schoolers to find under high power) on the larger screen, students can easily identify what they are suppose to draw and label. The photos of the students observing the microbes projected on the classroom wall say it all!